Light
by Maus17
Summary: It wasn't like naming a pet, or naming a compartment in an office storage space. They couldn't jut choose anything out of the blue. It had to be just right.


_**Small oneshot about how Mausy gets her name. Fluff and pointless. *sprawls* sooooo yeah. Enjoy, reviews are loved, and chicken wings are flung...wait...what?**_

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They chose Emily. It was a nice name, short and sweet, just like her.

It also started with the letter _E_, the letter that had started her tag and label name: E-5. It was a pretty name, one that had made her run in a circle and want to scream it over a thousand times at the top of her lungs. Her moony eyes had sparkled with pure joy, and she had clapped her hands, letting out happy laughs of excitement.

Emily was the name she was to give if she ever interacted with humans. It was the name on her I.D. card that Donnie had helped her acquire- with Casey's assistance. He and April had called her Emily when they first met her, along with short abbreviations that came to _Em, _or _Emmy._ Emily was the thing that she had learned she was supposed to put when papers requested her name, or when first meeting people. Formally, she was to be called Emily.

But that wasn't what they called her. It was something else- something different.

Raphael had always called her _Mouse, _or _Lil Mouse _because he claimed it suited her. Accustomed to his company and mannerisms, she had silently obliged, and had learned to turn and respond when he called her such. It was a bit hard at first, but she had gotten used to it, and it had slowly become a natural thing for all of them. They were not on formal terms, they lived together, and all of them shared mutual feelings of closeness. It felt right. She was known by the four brothers as Mouse- the name Emily was not pertinent in the Hamato home.  
And so, as the transformation from E-5 to Emily, to Mouse ensued, she had been pondering over the subject of names quite a bit, and about how such names would appear when written by her own hand. Though she knew not much about the alphabet and of the ways of writing, such thoughts did not manage to escape the little mutant's mind. At sixteen years old, she still did not know the complete works behind the art of writing and spelling- and so, with her childish ways, it seemed like an appealingly Herculean task to tackle.  
It was this particular task that the second oldest Hamato brother caught her in the act of tackling once more as he padded to her room, opening the door just a crack with cautiously inquisitive golden eyes, peering inside to see her practically doubled over a desk, pencil clutched dutifully in her small hand. A glint of amusement shone in his amber pools as the tip of the pencil broke, due to the fact that she was clutching the whole item with her fist, and stabbing at the paper in her efforts to write something that had a semblance to coherent speech- failing miserably.  
Not bothering to make his presence a hidden one any longer, he opened the door and stood up straight, walking in and towering over the small girl, crossing his arms over his plastron.  
"Having fun there?" he teased lightly, tilting his head and blinking down at her as she jumped slightly and frowned up at him. The smaller mutant sighed and let her chin fall into her palm as she tapped the stubby pencil on the paper at a slow and defeated rhythm, shaking her head in a clear 'no'. The past half hour she had spent crammed up in the small space and trying to write something, anything, had proved to be an utter failure.  
Original thoughts of getting the small girl to leave her room and join all of them for Movie Night were eradicated as the red masked ninja sighed and looked around the room, snatching up a fresh pencil and replacing the over-used one in her hand. Curling his rough fingers around hers, he adjusted her grip and the lines of her digits so she would be able to grasp the pencil the right way, easing her writing process. Her small hand was now poised and waiting to let words spill out onto the scribbled paper properly. Moving the paper aside for a new, blank sheet, he nodded in satisfaction.  
Writing her name wouldn't take too long, would it? Raphael was not one for 'mushy' sentiment stuff, nor was he the nicest, most empathic turtle around, but the sight of her small struggles as she frowned down at the paper made him want to help. It would be brief and easy, and it would cheer her up a bit and probably take her away from the overly broody mood she'd acquired lately about names and whatever. Then, when they had momentarily conquered the act of writing her name, they would go meet the others on the couch for Movie Night.  
Win-win situation.  
"Ya weren't holdin' it right- keep holdin' it like that. Yeah- there ya go. Now it'll be easier," he remarked, feeling as if he were talking to himself as she stared down at the paper and at her hand, eyeing the new position strangely before looking back up at him. Her eyes shone with a silent question, and he squinted his orbs of sight before gesturing to her with his chin. "Keep goin'."  
Not wanting to disturb her or ruin her focus at the moment, he remained quiet and watched her.  
She scrunched up her lips and her eyebrows furrowed with intense focus as she frowned at the paper, gauging how her new hand position would change her approach to moving the pencil on the paper. Biting her lip firmly in determination, she lowered the tip onto the white sheet and her small lips moved silently. She mouthed the first letter of her choice noiselessly, focused and glowering as if someone's life depended on it- and Raph couldn't help but smirk as he observed.  
He did not shift or protest even when she doubled over against the paper, hunching her shoulders so that her head hung and her curly locks fell in front of her face, obscuring the view of what she was writing. He could hear she was holding her breath, and her sighs of grim concentration were faint but audible as her arm, wrist, and hand moved at an agonizingly slow pace. Eyes glinting in amusement, he stifled a chuckle that was threatening to bubble out of his mouth, and watched on.  
After what seemed to be forever, she straightened up, utterly somber, and ran a small hand through her unruly hair, sighing in defeat and putting the pencil back on the desk with a solid thump as she flopped backward into the back of the chair. Blinking her moony orbs, she tilted her head and stared up at him, letting a wide, slow smile spread onto her lips. It turned into a grin and she kicked her feet like an excited child, gesturing the paper with an ecstatic and flailing hand.  
"What? Yer done already?" he questioned, smirking down at her small form as she nodded enthusiastically. Yeah, she'd taken forever, but he wouldn't mention the fact that the others were waiting for them just yet- he didn't want to discourage her.  
Before he could see what was on the paper, however, a knock made him turn around. The small mutant instantly shot up, her ears pricking and eyebrows raising in silent surprise.  
Quizzical hazel orbs met them as the purple masked ninja known as Donnie walked in, opening the door silently and tilting his head.  
"What are you guys doing? You took too long, so Mikey decided to start the movie without you," he informed, gesturing to the living room in the distance with his chin as he leaned on the doorway. His eyes glanced over them briefly before noticing the sheet of paper, and instantly, the hazel pools were lit by curiosity. "What's that?"  
Raphael rolled his eyes and motioned to Lil Mouse with one of his elbows. She blinked in response and slowly moved the paper closer to her, suddenly having the desire to hide it. Donatello was a remarkably intelligent being- and her efforts, compared to him alone, would seem...well...she just didn't want him to see. She slid down in her seat a little bit as she peered up at the two taller mutants. When greeted by a friendly smile, she offered a small reciprocation in return and waved slightly.  
"Tryin' to write," the older brother answered simply, shrugging his broad shoulders and looking back down at her as she shifted in the chair nervously. Donnie's smile widened and he leaned forward, genuinely pleased that she chose to endure the small endeavor. It was a good thing- a great thing that she showed such academic curiosity, and was willing to delve into matters herself, with sufficient motivation and whatnot. He was truly glad for her, and he hoped this would get her out of the overly pensive stupor she had resided in lately- and it would perhaps give him the opportunity to teach her a bit. The thought of seeing how far she had managed to get on her own was exciting, not to mention intriguing.  
"May I see?" he asked gently, looking into her moony orbs for consent as she shrank back a bit before looking up at Raphael, questioning and unsure. The red masked ninja shrugged again and blinked down at her.  
"If ya wanna," he muttered nonchalantly, crossing his arms again and holding her in his steady gaze, gauging her expression as it went from slightly frightened to uncertain, to reluctant. With slow hands, she handed the paper to the purple masked turtle, and he received it carefully, nodding at her with a smile before letting his eyes shift to the small writing below.  
Raph watched Lil Mouse curl in the chair and rest her chin on her knees, eyeing them with a sense of enormous anticipation, biting her lip. He observed silently as one of Donnie's eye ridges raised and his head came back up, a grin on his face as he stared down at her.  
"You did a good job- I'm proud," he said finally, giving her a small nod. The girl beamed up at him, straightening up instantly and flying at him, wapping her arms around him in an enormous hug. With a small smile, the purple ninja patted her head and chuckled at his older brother, who craned his neck inquisitively.

"What'd she write?" he muttered, not being able to help his curiosity. Donatello felt his smile widen as he gave the paper to his brother.

"It's spelled wrong- but it was a good attempt, and the hand writing isn't half bad," he remarked, watching as the little hedgehog beamed in childish triumph and climbed up Raph's shell. The red masked brother handed the paper to her and smirked as she hugged it adoringly, as if it were a teddy bear.

Her eyes shone with the bright light of happiness, and she was brighter than a ray of sunshine as she grinned like mad, ears pricked and cheeks rosy with joy. She stared down at the paper and cocked an eyebrow in satisfaction, clapping her little hands and bouncing slightly.

Raphael shook his head at his younger brother and patted her leg as she bobbed excitedly on his shoulders.

"Don- take one look at dat face and tell me spellin' matters," he laughed quietly, shaking his head once more as he walked out of the room, leaving the genius to trail behind him, chuckling. "Nobody gives a crud."

Donnie inwardly agreed with him, nodding to himself even if he didn't agree with his use of mildly crude language. Little Emily had been very serious lately, and he was glad her efforts had ended in satisfying triumph.

For once, Raph was right- spelling didn't matter this time around. Perhaps she had spelled _Maus_ on purpose instead of_Mouse_- who knew? All he did know was that it had brought a smile onto her face. A beam of light had made its way into her dark and confusing world.

For that, he was glad.

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_**I do not own TMNT. :3 This is for entertainment purposes only and all credit goes to owners. :3**_


End file.
